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Novak Djokovic

The Worlds number one ranked golfer beats the worlds number two ranked player in the Duel at Jinsha Lake, that means Rory beat Tiger in the first one-on-one exhibition match between golf’s two biggest names.

Tiger & Rory/ Photo / AP

Rory engineered a 5-under 67 round to beat Tiger by one stroke in an 18-hole match between these two top-ranked golfers at the Jinsha Lake Golf Club in central China overnight, where the total money prize was a reported $US two million.

Tiger may have lost this match, but he said it was fun;

” This is certainly not like most Mondays, to have this many people come out and watch us play golf in an exhibition was something special. This doesn’t happen, as far as doing something like this down the road, it would be fun.”

This event is the first time the two golfers had played head-to-head without other competitors, and it probably won’t be the last given the spectator interest and support for this match-up. It could become similar to the rivalry between Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray that have made men’s tennis so exciting in recent years.

Tiger thinks it could only be good for the game of golf;

“If you look at the history of the game, it’s not like other sports where the guys play against each other all the time. Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer didn’t go at it that often. But you know what, if we can do this for the next 10, 15 years, then certainly we can have that type of rivalry. I think having matches like this to promote the game of golf is what it’s all about. We’re trying to promote the game of golf in this region and it’s come a long way since my first time here 11 years ago.”

Rory’s win was some consolation for not winning his last tournament, when he was in position to do so;

“It’s been a nice distraction to not dwell on what happened yesterday. I let a great chance to win a golf tournament slip through my fingers. Coming to do something like this today has definitely made it a little easier to deal with.”

The game of golf is certainly taking off in China, and sponsor ship events like this will only help towards spreading the news and attracting youngsters to the game. Apart from the golf on offer, there were stunt planes buzzing overhead. A fleet of Rolls Royce’s elegantly whisked the players to the course, cruising past helicopters for sale and Aston Martins and Maserati’s, all with showgirls draped over them. After the two struck a gong to open the event, fireworks exploded behind them and confetti cannons rained gold flakes over the jostling crowd. Not sure what that was all about, but the crowd seemed to enjoy all the razzmatazz.